Prosecutors played raw footage of Megan Thee Stallion sobbing in an ambulance after being shot

• Rapper Tory Lanez's criminal trial on assault charges involving Megan Thee Stallion started Monday.
• The prosecution played clips of the chaotic night of the shooting.

Opening statements of Tory Lanez's trial on felony assault charges related to the shooting of Megan Thee Stallion began Monday with attorneys playing audio of 911 calls from the chaotic night of the shooting, describing screams from a female victim, and showing footage of the "Savage" rapper sobbing in the ambulance afterward.

"'Dance, bitch' — that's what the defendant said as he fired five rounds at the victim," Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott said Monday, before playing the sound of five gunshots aloud to the court.

Lanez, whose birth name is Daystar Peterson, pleaded not guilty to two felony assault charges — assault with a semiautomatic firearm, personal use of a firearm, and carrying a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle — brought by the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office in October 2020. Last week, Lanez was also hit with a new charge of discharging a firearm with gross negligence relating to the conflict. He faces up to 22 years in prison if found guilty.

Lanez appeared in court Monday wearing a light green suit, a white turtle neck, and brown shoes. Megan, who was not at the courthouse Monday, is expected to take the stand on Tuesday.

In the prosecution's opening statements for the trial on Monday, Bott said that Lanez and Megan, whose legal name is Megan Pete, were intimate on July 12, 2020, the night of a party at Kylie Jenner's house in Los Angeles. They got into an argument that night, Bott said, claiming Megan "insulted his skills as a musical artist."

Eventually, Lanez discharged his weapon, Bott said during opening arguments, shooting Megan in the foot and assaulting her friend Kelsey Harris.

A clip of Megan in the ambulance, sobbing, while heading to treat her injuries after the incident was also played by the prosecution.

In court, Bott also played two 911 calls from the night of the shooting, including from a bystander who said, "there is a woman that sounds like she's being hurt."

Megan's early statements

During the opening statements, Bott also said that Megan had initially lied in her statement to police about what transpired, but that evidence would show that Lanez's DNA — along with three other people — was on the gun.

The altercation occurred amid the 2020 Black Lives Matter controversy, which Megan claims pushed her to want to withhold information from the police.

"[At this point] I'm really scared," Megan said in a November 2020 GQ interview, "because this is like right in the middle of all the protesting."

Bott referenced texts Harris sent to Megan's bodyguard which read: "Help. Tory shot Meg. 911." In a call to Harris four hours after the initial incident, Lanez apologized "profusely," according to Bott.

Around 9 p.m. on July 12, Lanez texted Meg, "I just feel horrible cuz I genuinely just got too drunk," Bott said.

Bott also said that Megan's bodyguard, Justin Edison, went to Lanez's house the day after the shooting to pick up some of her belongings.

Bott claimed that Megan and Harris's statements since the 2020 shooting and incoming testimony coupled with Lanez's apology texts and phone calls point to Lanez's guilt.

Defense claims jealousy

Lanez's attorney George Mgdesyan also gave an opening statement on Monday, saying Megan's initial comments to authorities jeopardized her case and that since her back was turned away from the shooter during the incident, it was unfounded to frame Lanez.

"Jealousy. This case is about jealousy," Mgdesyan told the court. Mgdesyan claimed that Megan and her friend Harris were feuding over Lanez, as well as other romantic interests.

On top of suggesting that Harris was the shooter, Mgdesyan painted a picture of an incompetent police department that failed to follow proper procedures, including the LAPD's failure to conduct a DNA test on Harris and the officers' decision to use paper instead of official placards to mark evidence at the party.

The case continues on Tuesday with Megan on the stand.